Inked: Another Chapter Is Added to D-Wade’s Bromance With Lebron James

You could tell they had something special, the moment LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (and Chris Bosh) were elevated to the top of the stage for their first public appearance down in Miami.

The year was 2010, but what it really felt like was 1985 when the Russian boxer was being elevated to the stage to fight Apollo Creed with ‘Livin’ in America’ playing in the background.

Were there some hardships along the way that first season? No doubt. Teammates will never see eye-to-eye on everything. Things started to really click once James and Wade got into a rhythm.

It’s not like the two had chemistry before their time together in Miami. Lebron and D-Wade had played on team USA and numerous Eastern conference All-Star teams together. Miami was just the place where they put it all together for a full season and became the NBA’s second ‘superteam’. (The first superteam was the Boston Celtics with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen)

It was reported on Tuesday morning that Wade is meeting with the Cavaliers and will likely sign with the team sometime today. This is a low-key power move by the franchise as many think Wade is too far into the back nine of his career to be productive.

In 60 games for the Bulls last season, Wade averaged 18.3 points per contest and played 30 minutes a game. And you know his competitive fire and energy will kick into another gear when he shares the floor with Lebron, as they both would probably feel the nostalgia of their days in Miami.

This move also adds more depth to the point guard position for the Cavaliers. Depth was something that really affected them last year against the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Wade would join former MVP Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas as the team’s point guards. It’s worth noting that Thomas will likely be out until January as he is still recovering from a torn labrum in his right hip he suffered during last year’s playoffs.

This added depth at PG doesn’t give the Cavs an upper hand on the Warriors when they inevitably meet again in the finals for the fourth instalment of this series. But it does address a need of depth which could make this a more interesting series than it was last year.

Kyrie Irving didn’t have a serviceable backup point guard behind him when heading into the 2017 Finals. Which meant he had to shoulder the load for a majority of the game. While the Warriors were able to run rampant on those who subbed in for the Cavs when either Lebron or Kyrie took a breather.

So what does Lebron James think of bringing in his former batterymate? (Since he basically controls the team) He spoke about that on Monday’s media day.

“I would love to have D-Wade as a part of this team.

“I think he brings another championship DNA. Another championship pedigree. Brings another playmaker to the team who can get guys involved and make plays. And [more importantly] has a great basketball mind.”

Lebron James

It’s pretty obvious now that things were not peachy between Irving and Lebron. Adding D-Wade to the mix ensures that Lebron won’t have to worry about being on the same page with his point guard.